The Challenge
Are you ready to realise your fullest professional potential, become the engineer, leader and mentor you know you can be! We are looking for someone wants to make a real difference and contribute to the future defence of the UK; do your bit for the environment and be tested personally and professionally?

The Principal Airfield Pavements Engineer is our specialist lead for Airfield Pavements Design and Construction, developing creative Engineering standards and policies leading industry and clients providing world class expertise as MOD’s intelligent client interface to industry.

Seeking the variety, interest and technical challenges in managing and bringing innovation to solve problems and develop practical real world solutions needed by our armed forces? If you are the right person, this position offers a fantastic opportunity to solve a diversity of technical challenges working with customers and industry whether on major projects, maintenance or refurbishment works.

We employ approximately 4,900 staff from a very diverse range of professions, and we work across the world; in Germany, Cyprus and the Falkland Islands, Norway, Poland, Kenya, Belize, Nepal and Oman.

 

Responsibilities

Main Responsibilities
As the engineering specialist professional for the design and construction of airfield pavements you will deliver safety, durability, value for money and sustainable engineering support including the delivery of specific aerodrome data as part of the process of MOD discharging its responsibilities for the safety management of aerodromes.

The Principal Airfield Design and Construction Engineer is at the heart of our creative engineering knowledge and leadership delivering expert innovative technical support to manage, maintain and improve the MOD extensive Airfield Pavement Infrastructure Assets. You will set airfield pavement Design Standards and Engineering Policy and deliver expert support to our customers.

Using your Experience, Expertise and skills as a seasoned Chartered Civil Engineer you will develop DIO technical publications to set standards and provide leading edge technical support to the Military Aviation Authority, Military Operations staff as well as our in house and industry partner Maintenance and Project teams.

Expert technical support including:

• Audit, Assurance and Incident investigation activities in the delivery of compliant contracts.
• Military airfield physical design criteria (including for fixed wing, rotary, STOVL, UAV, tactical landing zone operations, markings, arrestor systems, obstacle limitation surfaces, tie-down points)
• Design evaluation systems for new build and refurbishment projects of existing pavements including load classification and runway friction.
• Military airfield pavement materials specifications.
• Military airfield pavement quality assurance of construction work.

Essential Experience and Skills:
• Experience of Design and Construction of Airfield Pavements.
• Experience in a senior multi-disciplinary role delivering infrastructure projects
• Expertise in National and international standards impacting Airfield Pavements
• Experience of site surveys, condition assessment and investigations concerning Bituminious and Cement bound materials

Desirable Experience & Skills
Appreciation, experience and awareness of;
• UK military and civil aerodrome regulatory framework, standards and criteria.
• strategy and policy development on airfield pavement construction standards
• the acquisition and application of aeronautical data and information services and Airfield pavement maintenance and management systems.
• national and international research initiatives in respect of design and construction of airfield pavements and knowledge of design and construction of associated civil works.
• airfield pavement design and evaluation systems and the international load classification system.

Environmental Factors / Hazards Associated with the Post
• Hazards associated with Construction sites and working on operational Airside infrastructure

Licences

Essential: Full UK Driving Licence – postholder will be required to travel alone, overseas and to remote locations with little or no public transport

Qualifications

Essential: Degree or above in relevant Engineering discipline

Memberships

Essential: Membership of a relevant Professional Institute (CIHT, ICE)

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Leadership

Benefits

We enable our people to work at the right place, with the right people, at the right time. We believe that if we look after our people, they will be passionate about delivering great things for our customers.

We understand the importance of life outside of work and our industry leading flexible working practices, digital technology and modern workspaces will give you the opportunity to enjoy a healthy work-life balance.

The MOD Discover My Benefits page lists the full set of benefits. Some of the many benefits you will receive include:

• Highly competitive Pension Scheme
• Flexi-time scheme
• Alternative working practices such as working from home
• 25 days annual leave rising (1 day per year) to 30 days upon completion of 5 years’ service
• Ability to roll over up to 10 days annual leave per year
• In addition to 8 public holidays per year you will also receive leave for HM The Queen’s birthday
• Minimum of 15 Days Special Leave in a rolling 12-month period to for volunteer military or emergency service reserve commitments
• Special Paid Leave for volunteering up to 6 days a year
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption leave
• Employee Assistance Programme to support your wellbeing
• Most sites have good travel links with free car parking; many also have other facilities such as a Sports & Social Club, Gym and / or site shops

Learning & Development

• Professional and Personal Development of skills
• Access to thousands of training courses through Civil Service Learning, some free or paid by DIO
• Ability to obtain industry recognised qualifications supported by DIO

About DIO
DIO is passionate about ensuring that we are a top performing organisation and a great place to work. We host a diverse range of talent where everyone feels valued and supported enabling our people to thrive, bring greater creativity and innovation to achieve higher organisational performance. We are committed to be an equal opportunities employer and creating a culture where everyone can bring their whole self to work and individuality is truly appreciated.
We promote and support a range of flexible working patterns enabling staff to balance home and work responsibilities.

This culture of inclusion is underpinned by our 6 staff networks covering Disability, Faith and Belief, Gender Equality, LGBTQI+, Race, Social Mobility and 3 networks dealing with employee wellbeing and support: Speak Safe Volunteers, Mental Health First Aiders and Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Advisers.

Our staff, future and current will be guided by the 4 Cs and we encourage you to be curious and continuously strive for improvement, collaborative in an inclusive culture, ambitious and resilient and committed to Defence, empowered and able to challenge so you can play a key part in shaping the direction of our organisation.

DIO commits to offer its employees the following experience:
• Meaningful, purposeful work
• The ability to learn and grow
• The right opportunities and resources
• To care about your wellbeing
• To feel valued and included

DIO is the estate expert for Defence, supporting the armed forces to enable military capability by planning, building, maintaining, and servicing infrastructure.

Our responsibilities include:

• Plan and deliver major capital projects and lifecycle refurbishment
• Provide utilities services
• Manage soft facilities management (i.e. cleaning and catering)
• Provide a safe place to train
• Allocate Service Families Accommodation
• Procure and manage routine maintenance and reactive repair
• Provide a central register of asset information to advise infrastructure planning
• Act as steward of the Defence estate
• Provide the unarmed guarding service

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) is the estate expert for Defence, supporting the armed forces to enable military capability by planning, building, maintaining, and servicing infrastructure.

Employment Hours
The post advertised is for 37 hours net, however the Ministry of Defence offers a range of flexibilities to enable a better work-life balance for employees. Flexible working will be considered.

Allowances
This position attracts an RRA Allowance of £3000
Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

This post does not offer any assistance with relocation allowances

 

Things you need to know

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

See our vetting charter.

People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical.

The role currently being advertised has not been assessed as business critical and is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system. Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected, and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

Please ensure that at the application and interview stages of the campaign you review the Success Profiles Framework to assist you in the demonstration of your skills and experience.

Your suitability for the role will be assessed using the Success Profile elements that have been chosen for this campaign. Each element will be scored accordingly, and the successful candidate will be appointed on merit.

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a significant number of applications, an initial sift will be conducted on Experience (CV - detailing Qualifications and Memberships and Personal Statement).

In this instance the remaining elements will be tested at interview

At application you will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours:

• Leadership

Experience:

• CV - Detailing Job History and Full Qualification Details

 

• Personal Statement - In no more than 750 words please provide a personal statement detailing the following Essential Experience:

1. Experience of Design and Construction of Airfield Pavements.
2. Experience in a senior multi-disciplinary role delivering infrastructure projects
3. Expertise in National and international standards impacting Airfield Pavements
4. Experience of site surveys, condition assessment and investigations concerning Bituminious and Cement bound materials

At interview you will be assessed against the above along with the following:

Behaviours:

• Making Effective Decisions
• Working Together
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

Application sifting is scheduled to take place on week commencing: 15th November 2021

Interviews will be conducted week commencing: 22nd November 2021

A minimum of 2 full working days’ notice will be provided for interviews. We endeavour to stick to these dates, but these are subject to change around business needs.

For help and support with your application check out our

Civil Service Careers Homepage and the How to apply section

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
• relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
• certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

 

Apply and further information

For more information and to apply, please click 'Apply' at the end of the advert.

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants:

Job contact:

Name: John Cook

Email: john.cook664@mod.gov.uk

Telephone:   0786396049  

Recruitment team:

Email: DBSCivPers-DIOResourcing@mod.gov.uk

Further information

Applicants should monitor their Civil Service Jobs application centre regularly for updates.

Some of MoD’s Terms and Conditions of Service (TACOS) changed from 3 February 2014. Those TACOS changes applied to Broader Banded and Skill Zone staff who were new recruits to MoD or who were appointed to a post on substantive promotion, progression or advancement. On the same basis, the TACOS for Departmental Retained Grades changed with effect from 01 September 2014. The document attached to this advertisement provides more information.

All employees joining MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a 6-month probation period (unless otherwise advised) effective from the employment start date.

Any move to Ministry of Defence from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

If you need to contact Defence Business Services (DBS) regarding this vacancy, please contact the DIO Enhanced Recruitment Team on DBSCivPers-DIOResourcing@mod.gov.uk

Complaints

Please be aware that the selection and interviewing of applicants is the responsibility of the Recruiting Line Manager (RLM) and not the Defence Business Services (DBS) Resourcing team. DBS do not play any part in the selection and interview process.

Therefore, if you wish to discuss your feedback, or you are dissatisfied with your markings, you should in the first instance raise this with the Recruiting Line Manager of the vacancy.

If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint. by writing to DBS at the following address:

Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, PO Box 38, Cheadle Hulme, SK8 7NU

If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address:

Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ

Or by email: info@csc.gov.uk

Cabinet Office Fraud Checks

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant whose details are found to be held on the IFD will be refused employment

Civil Service Recruitment Principles

Please see the link below for the civil service recruitment principles.

https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/recruitment/recruitment-principles/

To find out a bit more about what it’s like working for MOD, visit the Civil Service Careers Website

https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/departments/working-for-the-ministry-of-defence/

Please see the MOD Privacy Notice link below which describes how we will use your personal data, explains your rights and gives you information you are entitled to under Data Protection legislation.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ministry-of-defence-privacy-notice/mod-privacy-notice

Travel Costs

There will be no reimbursement for any travel expenses for the interview.